Ratchet Reaches Out

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Insomniac Games takes over Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

By Jeremy Dunham

ABC's popular reality television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has made a habit of helping families in need. Domiciles made up of returning war veterans, devastated tornado victims, and selfless hurricane Katrina volunteers are just a few of many that have benefited from a surprise household remodeling. Now, the folks at Insomniac Games want to pitch in and help out a family too.

James Westbrook, Future SuperstarWestbrook, the victim of a car accident that left him paralyzed in July 2006, never lost his passion for playing videogames or the desire to design one of his own. James' father, SFC Gene Westbrook, was paralyzed himself when he was hit by a mortar at an American mess hall in Baghdad, Iraq two years earlier.

Among the obvious personal struggles the family found themselves dealing with, moving two wheelchairs around a house that wasn't built for them was yet another problem. Enter Extreme Makeover and Insomniac Games:

"We were immediately moved to do something special for the Westbrook family when we learned about their tragic situation and James' passion for videogames design," said Ted Price, Insomniac Games' founder and CEO. "For all of us at Insomniac, this opportunity to help such an amazing family with our game-making experience was a real honor. We've never inserted a member of the public into our videogames, and we think it's incredibly appropriate that James will be the first gamer to enjoy that unique experience."

In one week's time, Insomniac's entire 160-person studio came together to produce the playable version of James, complete with his own flying saucer, in what typically takes an entire month.

"We're still finalizing the details of James' in-game character," said Ryan Schneider, Marketing Director, Insomniac Games. "We have the basic gameplay mechanic down, but how we incorporate that into Ratchet and Clank Future is still being determined."

How big a role James has is unclear, but hopefully he'll help us take out this guy.

According to Insomniac, the family had no idea that the studio was making a videogame version of James at all and it came as a complete surprise.

"Insomniac's involvement was always meant to be a surprise," confirmed Schneider. "The Westbrooks first learned of their son's role in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction when they were introduced to their new home by the show hosts. Additionally, the game footage that will be shown on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition occurs at the opening vista overlooking Kerchu City on Planet Jasindu. The portion of the level was approximately 30 percent complete at the time it was captured for the show."

"We're always touched by and grateful for what companies like Insomniac Games can accomplish, especially in such a short time period, to support the families featured on the show," said Denise Cramsey, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" executive producer. "It's inspiring to see so many diverse organizations invest the time to make such profound differences in other people's lives."